October 31st, 1984

Outside Tina's Party

"Steve! Steve, wait!" I yelled, following closely behind him as he pushed his way out of the house and into the front yard. "I'm sorry, Nellie." He said, not turning around as he continued on his path towards the car.

"Steve, stop." Grabbing onto the sleeve of his coat, he shrugged me off before turning around, his eyes puffy and red with tears before quickly covering them with his shades. "What happened?" I asked as he looked back at the party like he was scared somebody would see him, or rather us.

"Did you know?" He asked quietly before finally reaching my confused gaze. "Know what?"

"That she doesn't love me? That apparently our whole relationship is bullshit?" His voice dripped with anger as he spoke. "No, what? Steve, how would I know that?"

Shaking his head, he turned around and started walking back to his car. "What's wrong with you, Harrington?" I called after him, tired of the victim facade he had been putting on since even before tonight.

"Excuse me?" He asked, turning around and pulling his shades off to glare at me. "I said, what's wrong with you? I mean, last night you're some carefree romantic. Tonight you can't meet my gaze, and now you're heartbroken because Nancy doesn't love you. I mean, you cheated on her."

"It's not that simple." He stated, putting up a hard exterior. "There's nothing simple about any of this." I meant to sound sarcastic though it came out sincerely.

He nodded, staying quiet before slowly turning around and making his way back to his car.

Watching the car startup, the headlights flashed on me as I stayed in place on the sidewalk before the BMW sped off down the block and out of sight.

Rolling my eyes, I turned around to spot Jonathan holding Nancy up as he helped her out of the house and towards the car.

Running over, I pulled open the passenger door and helped him get her inside while her eyes slowly started to grow heavy before finally shutting, meaning she had passed out.

"Great party. Can't wait for next years." Jonathan groaned as he shut Nancy's door. "Need a ride?" He asked as he made his way around the car.

"I think I'll walk, should probably sober up before mom and Bob see me." I stated with a fake grin as he sat down in the car, "Be careful." He agreed with me before closing the door and waving his hand and driving off.

Making my way down the road, I took in a deep breath and pulled the sleeves of my striped sweater down in order to give my cold hands some form of warmth. It seemed to be getting colder quicker this year for some reason.

Slowly starting to feel more awake and less intoxicated, a chittering sound from inside the woods grabbed my attention.

Stopping in my tracks, the chittering got louder. Walking towards the lining of the trees I waited for the noise, but instead, the sound of an engine revving and the blinding lights of a car stole my attention away from the trees.

"What the hell are you doing, Byers?"

Turning around, I found Billy sitting in his infamous blue Camaro with the window rolled down.

"I just thought I heard something." I called back out to him before continuing down the road towards my house. "Are you seriously walking home?"

Looking over my shoulder, I found that Billy let the car slowly roll beside me as he stuck his head out the window. "That was the plan, yeah."

"Get in." He stated, stopping the car and pushing open the passenger door. "You don't have to-" "I didn't ask. So, get in."

Throwing my hands up in false surrender, I walked around the car before sitting myself on the passenger side.

With the car reeking of cigarette smoke and cheap cologne, I kept the window rolled down beside me. "So, why are you walking home all alone?" He asked as he continued down the road.

Shrugging in response, he looked over at me not impressed with the answer. "I saw your brother there, plus I figure King Steve brought you. So, why are you alone?"

"I guess it's just been a rough night for all of us. Take the next left." I nodded ahead of us.

"That Wheeler chick looked pretty rough, but that doesn't mean you should be left alone." He stated as he turned the car.

"It's complicated. My house is at the end of the road." I looked back out the window as the trees blurred together by how fast he drove.

"Try me." He stated with a smirk, slowing the car down until he parked in front of the house, the lights in the living room and kitchen still on.

"Well, Nancy got drunk because she found out Steve is cheating on her but also because she feels trapped in her relationship and life. Then, Steve isn't even sure how he feels about Nancy or this other girl. And then there's my brother, who really only cares about Nancy and her well-being. Then, there's me. I just wanted to walk home to sober up." I spoke quickly, leaving out only a few key details that I didn't feel the need to share.

"That doesn't sound so complicated." He rolled his eyes and drummed his fingers on the wheel, "Unhappy teens and alcohol don't mix." He stated with a grin as he looked over at me.

"That is sadly very true." I nodded before pushing open my door. "Thanks for the ride and another unnecessary chat." I smiled awkwardly at the boy as I stood out of my seat and closing the door behind me. "See you tomorrow, Byers!" Billy called out before reversing out of the driveway and speeding back down the road.

"Who's your friend?" I jumped at the friendly voice of Bob, who stood still at the opened door of our house. "Some guy from school." I said with a small smile as I made my way up the steps, "Well, nice of him to drive you home. Candy?" Bob asked with a cheeky grin, holding up a practically still full bowl of sweets.

Walking into the living room, I barely had the chance to make my way past mom without her noticing that something was wrong. "How was the party?" She asked sympathetically as she stood from her spot on the sofa to give me a hug, grimacing slightly at the smell of alcohol and cigarettes.

"Bullshit." I muttered into her shoulder, holding onto her tightly. "I can tell, you're home early." She stated, pulling away from the hug to tuck some hair behind my ear. "Do you wanna talk about it?" "I messed up, mom. I really messed up."

~~~

The car ride to school was quick and quiet with Jonathan, though when we had got to school the two of us noticed the empty BMW parked a few spots from us. Steve's never early. "Do you think he picked her up this morning?" I asked nervously.

"He had to of, right? I mean, he wouldn't have stranded her like that." Jonathan and I looked over at each other before making our way out of the car and towards the schools' entrance.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" I asked pulling on Jonathan's bag to stop him. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Just, if Nancy asks, tell her that Steve told you to take her home, okay?" I asked looking around to see if she was waiting for us by the doors. "Why? I will, but what's the big deal?"

"I just don't want her to think he completely abandoned her." I shrugged as the two of us quietly continued on our way into the school.

~~~

Gym is probably my least favorite period. When we aren't being forced to run laps, we are stuck inside the gym, with the girls having free time while the boys play basketball.

The game itself is boring, with the guys thinking they're all actually good at the sport. But the worst part is that they play in teams of shirts and skins, so I have to deal with the girls in the rows next to me talk about the abs on Hargrove.

"He's literally perfect." Tina whispered to Carol as the two practically drooled over the boy who was blocking Steve on the court.

Rolling my eyes, I rested my cheek in my hand and looked down at my watch to see how much longer I had to deal with this.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash that came from the court. Looking up from my watch I spotted that Billy now had the ball, leaving Steve pushed against the floor before shooting the ball straight through the hoop.

"Whoo! That's how you do it!" Billy yelled as the other skins high-fived him, while Steve pulled himself from off the ground to glare at the back of Billy's skull.

"Steve!" A voice yelled from the doors of the gym, the voice belonging to a very annoyed-looking Nancy Wheeler.

Rolling his eyes, Steve grabbed his towel from off the bench before following Nancy outside.

"Let's go for another round before lunch!" The coach yelled before blowing on his whistle.

Rolling my eyes, I looked out the gym doors as Nancy and Steve walked off the track and towards the side of the building.

~~~

"So, he asked you to take me home?" Nancy asked as the three of us sat on the hood of Jonathan's car for our lunch break. "Yeah." Jonathan said quietly, looking over at me.

"Yeah, he was upset. I mean, he was really upset..." Jonathan continued but stopped once he noticed the sad look on Nancy's face. "But he was still worried about you." I added in but she still stayed distant from us.

"Hey. You need to cut yourself some slack, okay? People say stupid things when they're wasted. Things they don't mean." Jonathan tried again, this time earning a reaction from Nancy as she shook her head in response.

"That's the thing. What if I did mean it? All this time, I've been trying so hard to pretend like everything's fine, but it's not. Like, I feel like there's this.." Nancy stopped short, looking for the right way to explain her feelings.

"Like there's this weight you're carrying around with you? All the time." I spoke up from my spot next to Jonathan as her eyes slowly reached mine. The look she gave me could only be described as cold and bitter.

"I feel it, too." Jonathan agreed, but Nancy shook her head again. "It's different for you guys, Will came home."

"Yeah, he did. But he's not the same. I try to be there for him, you know, to help him, but I don't know." Jonathan spoke softly as Nancy moved her gaze off of me and onto Jonathan.

"Maybe things just can't go back to the way they were." I finished for him as he nodded in agreement. "No, I mean, doesn't that make you mad?" Nancy asked, not accepting the idea.

"Mad?" Jonathan shook his head. "Yeah, at those people, who ruined so many lives, and they just get away with it." Her voice growing angry as she spoke.

"The people who did this are dead." Jonathan repeated the phrase that Hopper had relayed to us after that night. "Do you really believe that?" She asked and looked off into the distance.

"Nance?" I questioned as she focused her eyes on a guy listening to his Walkman. "Your moms' boyfriend. He works at RadioShack, right?"

"Yeah." I answered her. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"Do you guys wanna skip fourth period?" She asked with a grin, sliding off the hood of the car.

"Sure." Jonathan said with a grin, sliding off as well. "What did you have in mind?" He asked her as she made her way to the passenger side.

"I'll explain to you on the way." She said opening the door. "Wait, Jonathan?" I stopped him from opening his door from my place still on the hood.

"What about Will? It's our day to get him from school." I asked as he leaned on the door, "I thought it was AV Club today?" He asked furrowing his brow. "That's Monday and Wednesday." I corrected him as he looked over to Nancy.

"Jonathan and I can do this alone then." Nancy shrugged, getting into the car and slamming the door shut while Jonathan mouthed, "Sorry." As he got into the car.